New York Woman Finally Arrested For Making 24,000 Fake 911 Calls
Excuse me, what?! Apparently this woman truly has nothing better to do than waste people's time.
According to New York Daily News, 38-year-old Yogita Persaud from the Bronx was arrested last Friday after making 24,000 calls to 911 since June, all of which involved fake incidents. Police were able to track her through an unregistered pre-paid cell phone, on which she made over 200 calls to 911 on the day she was arrested, even as cops talked to her through her door, asking why she had been making so many fake calls.
On average, she has made 100 calls each day since June. Lt. John D'Amico of NYPD's Communications Division told NYDN that police and fire teams had to respond to each of her calls, which wasted their time and resources that could have gone to helping people in need.
"[Persaud's] number kept coming up for having high call volumes, so much so that most of the 911 call takers on the floor would recognize the number when it was made,” D’Amico told NYDN. "They all knew the call coming in was going to be fake, but they had to be professional and take the call."
D'Amico said Persaud called in fake fires, police emergencies, and robbies. Sometimes she would just call and swear at the 911 dispatcher.
As police were able to track Persaud's calls to her home and talk to her through her door, they realized she was actually on the phone with a dispatcher, reporting a basement fire in a building across the street from her house. A source told NYDN the operator reminded Persaud that it was illegal to make a fake call to 911, and she responded with a rant about how the NYPD and FDNY were plotting against her.
Police have charged Persaud with making a false report, aggravated harassment and obstruction of government administration, and she was released without bail, according to NYDN.
Persaud spoke to The News on Tuesday, saying the NYPD is corrupt and that she has a case in December.
“It’s a campaign against me," Persaud said through her door. “They hired a gang member to stalk me. It’s been going on for a very long time, nine years. It’s outrageous.”
What's actually outrageous is how much time this lady put into calling 911 over and over and over and over. Not only is that super dangerous for other New Yorkers who may need real emergency assistance, it's also just a really unhealthy obsession. How about a petition to get this lady on TLC's "My Strange Addiction?"